Who's got Sox tickets? They do.

C-level dilemma: Who gets all those seats

News that a World Series was coming to Chicago set off a flurry of activity among ticket-seekers. But rather than a mad dash to a broker, some simply made a beeline to their Rolodex.

News that a World Series was coming to Chicago set off a flurry of activity among ticket-seekers. But rather than a mad dash to a broker, some simply made a beeline to their Rolodex.

CEOs and big dealmakers had access to plenty of tickets last week -- and were being flooded with calls and e-mails from clients, colleagues and acquaintances working connections to get into seats and skyboxes controlled by companies including SBC Communications Inc., Bank of America Corp., Miller Brewing Co. and PepsiCo Inc.

Loyalties were weighed, favors doled out and power concentrated in the hands of a few, particularly those who head companies, own businesses or pass legislation.

"There's going to be a mix of customers and politicians" invited by Chicago-based U.S. Cellular Corp., says CEO John Rooney, whose company has 76 seats. A Sox "fanatic" who saved a seat for his 37-year-old son at Saturday's game, Mr. Rooney extended a skybox offer to state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, whose district includes U.S. Cellular Field, and Gov. John Baldacci of Maine, where the wireless carrier has business interests.

"I have had to turn away some of our employees. Some had written in; I personally responded to them," says Mr. Rooney. Not getting the same soft touch from the top gun were "people from outside (the company) who try to put the arm on me to give them seats."

The suddenly hot ticket: invitations to corporate skyboxes at U.S. Cellular Field.

Photo: Todd Winters

Bigwigs are coming out of the woodwork; the club itself is far from immune. "We've been hearing from everyone," a White Sox spokeswoman says. Howard Pizer, executive vice-president of the organization, is deciding who's in and who's out, sources say.

Former state Sen. William Marovitz, who already has six season tickets, says he resisted the urge to ask for more. "I don't want to be a hog and pest," says Mr. Marovitz, a real estate and restaurant investor whose wife, Playboy Enterprises Inc. CEO Christie Hefner, planned a rare appearance at the stadium over the weekend. "Jerry (Reinsdorf, the team owner) is a good friend of mine, and he's been inundated: businesses, every politician wants to go, his supporters, his kids. With only so many tickets available, they have to take care of their friends."

Norman Bobins, CEO of skybox owner LaSalle Bank Corp., says there's been "great enthusiasm" from people asking for seats. Mr. Bobins says he planned on inviting a mix of friends and clients to join him at Sunday's game. For someone like Mr. Bobins, whose company has numerous local clients, cherry-picking guests is a delicate task. How tough is it to treat some without creating grudges elsewhere?

Mr. Bobins pauses. "I just tried to invite people I know are Sox fans and with whom I've talked about the games over the years," he says.

'METHODICAL' PROCESS

Another gatekeeper, James Tyree, CEO of Mesirow Financial, has an 18-seat skybox. The typical phone call he's received, from those who don't come right out and ask for a ticket, goes like this: "Hey, do you know where I can buy a ticket? I'd like to go -- and I'll pay for it."

No dice. Far from a free-for-all, the selection process at Mesirow was "methodical," Mr. Tyree says. Last week, he asked all his employees to submit ticket requests. "Hundreds" flooded in. Seniority counted, and additional preference was given to those who were taking clients. But Mr. Tyree says the chosen few also had to be Sox fans: "I don't want people who just want to be seen."

Some recipients of tickets got them through connections, but in a more roundabout way.

Mike Domek, owner of online broker TicketsNow.com, of course had access to plum box seats, but not skyboxes. Then, his telecom company called: SBC offered him two passes to its suite. "I was very surprised that of all the large corporations that use their services, we were asked," Mr. Domek says. "But we have a really good relationship with them."

RANK HAS ITS PRIVILEGE

Illinois Institute of Technology President Lew Collens was scheduled to attend Saturday's game. The school provides parking facilities for the club and gets six tickets as a result. The seats usually go to students, faculty or staff, but for a game this big, Mr. Collens, who says he's a longtime fan, will attend, along with "others from the administration."

For politicians, there are a variety of ways to join the fray. Members of the Illinois General Assembly were given a chance to purchase post-season tickets at face value.

Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, a season-ticket holder, sits near the first-base line by the on-deck circle. "He pays for those with his own funds," his spokesman is quick to say. The constituents who will benefit: his family.